Large stage concert musical instruments such as a grand piano or an upright piano are heavy and difficult to move, and so are typically used in fixed locations. These instruments may be positioned on rolling casters which allow the feet of the piano to be lifted above the floor with the heavy duty casters actuated below to move the piano, after which the actuation mechanism lowers the feet of the instrument and lifts the rolling casters with the piano legs again resting on the floor. While a concert piano may be moved for short distances in this manner, this proves to be unwieldy for most performance venues where the equipment is brought in and removed afterwards. To address this need, a class of portable pianos have been developed which provide the rich sound of a piano, either by electronic synthesis, or by miniaturizing the mechanisms of the full-size concert version while maintaining the pitch and timbre, or the portable piano may have a completely new sound.
A concert piano typically has foot pedals which are an integral part of the piano mechanism, and may also be part of the support structure for the piano. For a concert piano, these pedals, from left to right, are the “soft pedal” (una corda), which reduces the sound amplitude by having the action of the keys strike only one string of the triad usually associated with each key, the “sostunado pedal”, which removes the damper from a struck key so the strings for that struck key continue to vibrate, and the “sustaining pedal” (or damper pedal), which raises the dampers from all of the strings so that all strings continue to vibrate after the struck keys are released.
Portable pianos use a foot operated actuator to perform these functions, and have a single operable pedal which typically performs the function of the sustain pedal, with the sustain pedal pushing an actuator rod upwards which raises the dampers from the strings or tines of the portable piano.
One examplar popular portable piano is the Rhodes piano, which comprises an elevated console part which contains the keyboard, hammers, wires or tines which vibrate in response to being struck by the hammer, electronic pickups for the tines, and a set of legs which elevate and support the console. The support legs are removable for quick setup, removal, and storage, and the sustain pedal function is performed by a foot pedal actuator which is placed on the floor. A recurring problem for musicians using portable pianos is the foot pedal actuator is not well supported, and may move during a musical performance, which effectively lengthens the actuator push rod and requiring greater pedal actuation distance, until the actuator pedal no longer provides enough displacement.
It is desired to provide an improved foot operated pedal actuator and support for use with a portable piano.